Dbiek for textile stock



M. F. KEVLIN. DRIER FOR TEXTILE 'srocx, ETC APPLICATION HLD JUNE21. 1920i Patented Sept. 5, 1922. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 c zforney Witness.-

M. F. KEVLIN.

DRIER FOR TEXTILE STOCK, ETC.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 21, I920.

Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Invehzor- Patented Sept. 5, 1922.

MATHEW F. KEVLIN, OF SPRINGFIELD, VERMONT.

DRIER FOR TEXTILE STOCK, ETC. 7

Application filed June 21,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MATHEW F. KnvLIN, a citizen of the United States, resldin at Springfield, in the county of Windsor, tate of Vermont, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Driers for Textlle Stock, Eta, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

. The invention has relation to driers for wool, rags, cotton, and other loose material, more especially textile stock. More partlcularly, it relates to driers having movable shelves or tables receiving and supportlng the stock for and during the drying.

The invention comprises sectional guardstrip or wiper-devices arranged to coact with the shelves or tables.

The invention is more especially applicable in connection with the tables or shelves of a drier embodying the invention of former Letters Patent No. 1,249,771, granted under date of Dec. 11, 1917, upon my applicatlon therefor. I

Fig. 1 of the drawings is a sectional vlew of certain portions of a drier on the order of that shown in the Letters Patent aforesaid.

Fig. 2 is a view on a somewhat larger scale than Fig. 1, showing,'partly 1n vertical section in a plane extending longitudlna lly of the drier, certain parts'of thedrier with an illustrative embodiment of the invention applied thereto.

Fig. 3 is an elevation, partly broken away, of a partial set of the sectional wipers.

Fig. 4 is a view in section on line 4, 4, of Fig. 3. 1

Fig. 5 is an edge view, and Fig. 6 1s a plan view,of one of the retainers that are employed with the wiper-sections of Figs. 2 and 3. i

Fig. 7 is a side elevation, and ig. 8 an end view, of a wiper-section having its facing strip attached to the lower side of such section.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a shelf or table having another embodiment of the invention combined therewith.-

Fig. 10 is a plan view or the form of retainer which is shown in Fig.9.

A drier on the order of that shown and described in the Letters Patent aforesaid comprises, as indicated by Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings, a pluralityof platforms arranged. one above another, as at A, B, C,

1920. Serial 390,415.

each platform comprising a group of shelves or tables composed of stationary slightly inchned shelves or tables 3, 3, and movable similarly inclined shelves or tables 4, 4, in

an alternatingsuccession, as indicated. The movable shelves or tables are reciprocated slowly edgewise between the stationary shelves or tables. When themovable shelves 4, 4, 4, of a series or platform occupy the fully projected portions in whichthey are shown in the case of the top platform A in Flg. Land in the case of the movable shelf 4 1n Fig. 2, the layer of stock, which has been placed upon the platform for thedrying operation rests upon the said movable shelves, it extending down from the leading edge of one movable shelf tothe rear port1on of the next succeeding movable shelf. As the movable shelves 4, 4, 4, are retracted lnward between the stationary shelves 3,3, 3, the layer of stock is carried back slightly, but the continued withdrawal of the movable shelves from under the layer permits the latter to rest upon the stationary shelves. As the movable shelves nextare projected outward from under the stationary shelves, they slip in under the layer ofmaterial again, lifting and separating the material from the stationary shelves. In this movement, they partly push and partly carry the layer of material a short distance inthe direction of the length of the series or platform, so that the effect-of successive reciproeating movements/is to shift the layer of stock gradually along the platform from the receiving end of the discharging end thereof. Thereby, the stock deposited upon the lefthand end of the platforrnA is caused to travel slowly in the direction of the'length of such platform until it falls from the right-hand end thereof upon the platform B,

along which it is caused to travel until it falls from the left-hand endof platform B upon the platform C, the latter'delivering the dried stock from its right-hand end.

' The Letters Patent just mentioned show and describe guard-strips mounted in connection with theleading or'forward edges (the elevated edges in Fig.1 hereof) of the shelves or tables, both fixed and movable, in the same relations as the wiper-sections a, I

Z), Fig. 2, of the present invention, the guard-strip carried by one shelf making contact with the surface of the. shelf next below, substantially as in. the caseof said wiper-sections a, b, and serving to prevent the stock from working in between the shelves or tables during the back and forth movement of the moving ones.

The guard-strips of the said Letters Patent correspond in length to the length of the shelves or tables. The latter are of considerable length, at least 5 or 6 feet. They are made of thin sheet metal, which often cannot be obtained free from warped or buckled spots, and they have a tendency to become warped andbent in the course of the use of the drier. In consequence, the edge of a continuous guardstrip such as heretofore employed fails to fit uniformly close to the surface of the shelf or table with which it coacts, and touches only. the high spots. From this it results in practice that at the low places of the shelf or table portions of stock enter and work through the openings or spaces between the guard-strip and the said surface. This in many cases, is objectionable. For instance, in running successive batches of different colored stock through the drier, such working through results in the stock from a subsequent batch of a different shade or color upon an upper platform dropping upon the batch upon a lower platform and becoming mixed therewith. in the case of the bottom platform, the portions of stock which pass through beneath the guard-strip and fall upon the floor under the drier form a. general mixture of bits of all the various colors or ma terials passing through the drier. The accumulation becomes dirty, and sometimes fills up the space beneath the said platform so as to impede the upward flow of air through the-latter, and even in some instances interferes with the movement of the shelves. In this location the material often is injured by prolonged subjection to heat.

The object of my invention is to provide guard-strips or wiper-devices of an improved character which shall not be subject to the drawbacks just described, and which shall operate more perfectly.

The invention consists in the combination with shelves or tables such as aforesaid of wiper-means comprising a series of sections connecting with an upper shelf or table and contacting with the top surface of the adjoining underlying table, and which are independently movable relative to one another and to the underlying shelf or table, so that each section is adapted to conform its position to that portion of the latter shelf or table with which itcoacts, thereby guarding against failure to perform the intended function. I

In other words, in accordance with the invention, I employ for cooperation with each shelf or table sectional wiper-devices comprising short independently-movable guard-strip or wiper-sections combined in a series which extends across the width of the drier. In virtue of each section being movable independently of the others, each section is capable of accommodating itself to either an elevation or depression of the shelf or table. fence the various sections work at all times in contact with the different portions of the shelf or table, and separation of a guard-strip from the shelf or table at a depression of the latter is prevented.

Preferably, as in the case of the different embodiments of the invention which are shown in the drawings, each section iscomposed of a bar or plate carrying a strip of suitable flexible wiping material. The said strip may be composed of fiber (so-called) or of asbestos, or of a combination of suitable character preferably of material of the nature of brake-lining. In Figs. 2, 3 and i, a, a, are the bars or plates of wiper-sections of one construction, and b, b, are flexible strips attached to the vertical faces of said bars or plates and projecting below the latter so as to present the lower edges of the flexible strips for action against the under lying shelf. The Wiper-sections are caused to make yielding contact with the platform surface with which they coact, either by utilizing gravity, or gravity aided by springs. In Figs. 2, 3 and 4-, 0, 0, are expanding coil-springs that are interposed between a bar or strip a and the under side of the shelf or table above that with which the wiper-section coacts.

VVi aer-devices arelocated at the forward edge of a shelf or table, for cooperation with the shelf or table next below, and are arranged to be guided in their vertical movements, preferably, by means of the clownturned flange 5 of the shelf or table first mentioned, and by coacting devices thatare attached to such shelf or table. In Figs. 9., 3 and a the coacting devices consist of clips 6 which are adjustably attached by bolts f to such shelf or table. One of such clips is shown separately in Figs. 5 and 6. Slots 7 in the body-portions of the clips 6 permits the clips to be shifted toward and from the said downturned flange 5 as may be required, to it the wiper-sections. In order to prevent said wiper-sections from falling away from the shelf in connection with which they are mounted, upon occasions when such shelf is out of the drier, as for instance prior to and at the timeof assembling the parts of the drier, and when ever in fact the shelves require tobe taken out of the drier, the downturned portion of each clip is formed with a projection f Fig. 6, and the ends of the wiper-sections are notched as shown in Fig. 3 to form two sections. The notching of the ends of the sections provides for permitting free play of the wiper-sections up and down to an extent sufficient to permit said sections to cooperate properly with the shelves upon which they rest.

As an alternative construction, the wiper-v sections'may be mounted upon the shelves in the manner shown in Fig. 9, namely, by means of flat springs h, (Figs. 9 and 10) each having a slot 72, through one end there: of for the colt f by which it is attached to the supportingshelf, and having its free end engaged in a pocket k in the back of the wiper-section a. In the, case of this construction, the wiper-sections are kept in contact with the surface of the shelf with which they coact by the tension of the springs h;

or if desired, may be provided as described above with springs formed of wire of round or other "suitable cross-section, and made with or without coils as deemed desirable.

The wiping strip 6 may, if preferred, be applied to the under side of the bar a, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, so as to present the flat face of the strip instead of its edge, for action against the surface with which it coacts.

What is claimed as the invention is 1. A drier for loose stock, having a hori zontal feeding and supporting platform comprising a plurality of shelves or tables having relative movement, and wiper means comprising a series of wiper-sections combined with an upper shelf, contacting with the top surface of the adjoining underlying shelf, and movable relatively to said upper shelf and also relative to one another whereby they respectively automatically maintain contact with said top surface.

2. In a drier for loose stock, in combination, a series of stationary and movable shelves or tables movable one with respect to the other and each provided along its leading edge with a line of wiper-sections for coaction with the adjoining shelf or table,

wiper-means for coaction with the next ad joining shelf or table, such wiper-means comprising an alined series of wiper-sections having wiping surfaces of flexible "material, springs which press the wiper-sectionsinto contact with the surface which they wipe, and clips appliedto a shelf or table, retaining, the corresponding wiper-sections in working connection therewith, and preventing accidental disconnection of the wipersections fromthe shelf or table when the."

latter is disassembled.

4:. A drier, for loose stock, having a feedmg and supporting platform comprising a plurality of relatively movable shelves 'or' tables, respectively having a flange, an

alined series of wiper-sections combined with each shelf or table, guided by its flange, coacting with the surface of the next ad'- joining shelf or table, movable relative to one another and to the first mentioned shelf 1 or table and thereby automatically remaining in contact with such surface, and means retaining the wiper-sections in working relations with said flange and preventing disconnection from the shelfor table. 1

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

vMATHEW F. :KEVLIN, 

